The Will of the Ghostbusters
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: After a close call at a haunted mansion almost takes his life Peter begins to think that he's the only one who has the courage to stand up for his convictions and how the other Ghostbusters take advantage of it. Only after some deep soul searching does he realize how much he needs Ray, Egon and Winston; and how much they need him.


The day was unusually busy for the Ghostbusters. A string of calls had kept the intrepid quartet busy, running from one end of the city to the other. An old abandoned hotel had recently been demolished to make way for a new apartment complex and as a result of the renovation all of the spirits that had been lingering inside the hotel had to find new locations to haunt. A particularly meddlesome poltergeist had taken up residence inside the manor of a wealthy industrialist and had provoked a response from the Ghostbusters.

"Wow, nice digs!" Dr. Ray Stantz glowed as he pulled Ecto-1 along the lengthy drive to the massive, elaborately built home. "This is the kind of place I dream about!"

Dr. Peter Venkman rolled his eyes from the backseat. "That's not ALL you dream about."

Winston Zeddemore nudged Peter's arm from his place in the back next to him. "C'mon Peter, you can't honestly say you're not impressed with this place. It's enormous!"

"I've seen bigger..." Peter quipped with a hand covering his deep, sleepy yawn.

Dr. Egon Spengler, who was riding up front beside Ray, had been reviewing the information gathered about the property of their client. "This mansion was built in 1897 and has been in Mr. Dylan Roberts' family for generations ever since. Our client and current resident, Miss Lillian Roberts, has reported no previous hauntings since she inherited the mansion nine years prior."

Ecto-1 came to a stop and parked in front of the gorgeous home. The four Ghostbusters climbed out of the hearse in turn and eyed the mansion with awe and envy.

A young woman in her late twenties rushed outside the front door to greet the men. She had long brunette hair pulled back in a ponytail, hazel eyes, a slender build and a graceful step. She was wearing a simple pair of dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt with a forest green blouse as a second layer and a pair of black shoes. A woman of wealth and humility.

"Thank you so much for coming!" She greeted the Ghostbusters appreciatively and grabbed onto Ray's hand for dear life. "I'm Lily, please tell me you can save my home!"

Peter immediately took notice of how attractive and frightened the young lady appeared and decided to act on the moment with his own unique brand of charm. "Don't worry miss." Peter took her hand from Ray's and held tightly. "We'll take care of everything."

Egon, Winston and Ray all exchanged irked glances with one another before returning to their professional demeanor.

Winston cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Can you tell us what's been going on? Are you sure this a case we need to handle?"

Before Lily could respond a loud cackle from the depths of the mansion echoed outward. Doors and windows began opening and closing by an unseen hand and the power inside the mansion flickered on and off rhythmically.

"Ah, never mind." Winston stood idle and calm. "How long has this been going on?"

"About a week now." Lily answered as she slunk down and ducked behind Peter in fear. "Can you make it stop?"

"One week." Ray repeated with a calculating tone. "Same as all the other disturbances in the city."

Egon unclipped the PKE meter from his belt and used it to scan the immediate area. "The apparition is emitting the same PKE frequency as the other ghosts we've recently encountered. By my calculations this should be the last ghost that had fled the demolished hotel."

"Good." Ray walked to the rear of Ecto-1 and pulled open the door. Unlatching the storage rack he rolled the four proton packs out of the car and out into the open. "We have only two vacated traps at our disposal. If one fails we have a possible back-up, and then we can finally go home and relax."

Winston joined Ray at the rear of Ecto-1 and pulled the first proton pack free of the storage rack. "Sounds good to me."

Egon motioned toward Peter who was more than willing to comfort Lily and was showing a little too much interest in her in general. "One of us should remind Venkman that this is a call, not a first date."

Ray helped Winston to slide on his pack and volunteered his services. "Right. I'm on it." While Winston helped Egon to slip on his own pack Ray put his hand on Peter's shoulder and pointed at the car. "Gear up. Then you can flirt."

Peter gave Ray an annoyed look but made his way to the back of the car as instructed.

"Now Miss Roberts," Ray focused on their frightened client in a far more professional manner. "what can you tell us about the activity that's been happening as of late?"

"Please, call me Lily." She insisted before answering the question. "Well, when the ghost first showed up I noticed little things happening that I couldn't explain, and then it escalated to what you see now."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Yes. Uh, the first night I heard a voice calling out to me but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The next morning my car keys weren't on the hook and after I spend almost three hours looking for them I heard a jingle and crash, that's when I found them on the floor under the hook like someone dropped them. And then the noises continued and other things in the house would get moved around, I'd see shadows in every room and in the backyard, the lights would turn on and off, doors would open and close... It's just a madhouse right now!"

Peter walked up to Ray and forcefully put the fourth proton pack on Ray's shoulders causing the engineer to flinch at the unexpected weight on his back.

"Don't worry Lily," Peter flashed Ray a sly grin as he 'helped' Ray with his pack. "we won't let you down."

"Thank you so much!"

Egon and Winston joined Ray and Peter where they stood. "Where should we begin our search?" Egon wisely asked.

"Well, the first time I heard a noise I think it came from the study on the third floor."

"Excellent. I'll take the PKE meter to the study and begin a sweep of the entire house."

"Okay." Lily liked the idea. "After that I saw a shadow numerous times in the garden out back."

Winston nodded and stepped up. "I'll check out the garden."

"Um..." Lily thought for a moment. "A lot of the time when I heard unusual noises it sounded like someone was splashing around in the pool."

Peter's brow arched inquisitively. "Pool? In the back?"

"No." Lily gave short but clear instructions on the layout of the house. "The pool is in its own area in the center of the house on the ground floor. It's closed off so I know that it wasn't a kid sneaking in to use the pool at night."

"I'll check out the pool." Peter readily volunteered. "Never know what might show up!"

"And the other activity seemed the happen the most in the basement."

"Basement, huh?" Ray's eye lit up with excitement. "My favorite!"

Egon adjusted his glasses as he gave the mansion's exterior a once over. "Very well. We'll check out our designated areas and then reconvene-"

A loud explosion from the kitchen inside the mansion shook the property causing the gathered five outside the mansion to stumble on their feet and back away cautiously. Thick black smoke began pouring through the opened windows nearest the source of the explosion as bright orange flames began gnawing through the walls.

"Fire!" Lily screamed as Peter put his hands on her shoulders to pull her further away from the mansion. "My home is on fire!"

"I'll call for help!" Winston raced back to the car to use the mobile phone to dial 911.

"Stay back!" Ray cautioned as the group backed away from the burning mansion. "This is incredible! Absolutely incredible! Whatever this entity is it's strong, angry and volatile."

Egon had resumed scanning the area. "It'd be best to keep Miss Robert AWAY from the mansion until we've captured this entity. There may be a connection to her family and the ghost which could be provoking such violent behavior."

"We'll look into her family history after we return to the firehouse."

The sound of sirens filled the air as the responding fire department raced toward the scene of the burning mansion. The smoke was thick and the flames were bright, but it seemed that the fire was contained solely to the kitchen.

An ambulance accompanied the fire engine that parked strategically alongside the mansion. While the firefighters tended to the flames the paramedics checked on the five bystanders who were watching the scene from a safe distance.

"Is anyone hurt?" The first paramedic, a tall black man in his early thirties with a thick goatee asked calmly. His demeanor was almost military as he carefully studied the body language of the awaiting group. "Was anyone inside when the fire started?"

"No." Ray confirmed as he motioned toward Lily who was still being tended to by Peter. "This is her mansion and we were asked to examine the property. We never the chance to set foot inside before the fire started."

The paramedic motioned toward his partner, a shorter white woman in her mid twenties to join him. She wasn't as confident as her partner but she didn't show any fear in her composure. "Check on the woman, she isn't physically injured but she could be in shock."

"Okay, no problem."

"If you need any assistance just call, I'm going to check in with the captain."

"Yeah, thanks." Ray watched as the paramedic approached the fire engine and went about his business. "Poor Lily. I hope she's going to be okay."

Egon nodded as he looked over at the frightened woman. The female paramedic had escorted her over to the ambulance, with Peter following close behind, and was giving her a brief examination. "I suspect Miss Roberts will require counseling after this event, but I suspect she'll be able to resume a normal life in time."

Winston, Egon and Ray sat inside Ecto-1 and waited patiently for the fire to be extinguished and for the fire department to give them the all clear before continuing their call. During that time Peter had offered Lily some free psychiatric counseling from the back of the ambulance, and based on her facial expression he had also tried to give her his phone number. She politely declined.

The firefighters had exited the salvaged mansion with their equipment in hand and over shoulder. The captain at the scene approached Ecto-1 which caused the three Ghostbusters inside to exit and greet him.

"You're the Ghostbusters, right?" He asked in somewhat amused manner. "I'm Captain Ziskey. The cause of the explosion was a gas leak in the kitchen. We have the gas shut off and are currently clearing the air of any residual gas. Give it an hour and you can go inside, but AVOID the kitchen and surrounding rooms at all costs. We'll stay on the scene until after you leave in the event of other problems."

Ray looked a little nervous but Winston and Egon were unfazed. "Do you expect another explosion?"

"Currently, no. But if the structural integrity of the mansion has been compromised we'd prefer to remain in the area. We're unsure as to the cause of the gas leak, but according to our arson investigator it looks like the pipe was sabotaged."

"Sabotage?"

"Do you know if Miss Roberts has any enemies that we should perhaps inform the police of?"

"Not that we know of." Ray admitted feeling a little useless. "But you will tell the police, right?"

"Of course. Standard procedure."

Egon looked toward the ambulance and motioned for Peter to rejoin them by Ecto-1. "Thank you captain. We'll stay clear of the kitchen. Is there anything else we should be aware of?"

"Well, we turned off the gas and the electricity, but as a precaution we ask that you don't use an radios inside the house. We can't rule out a radio frequency causing a second explosion."

"Very well." Egon unclipped the radio from his belt and placed it on the front seat of Ecto-1. He motioned for the others to do the same. "We'll use the utmost caution during our examination."

"Thank you gentlemen. My men will still be inside checking the rooms, I hope you understand."

"Yeah," Ray wasn't worried about firefighters being in their way. "we understand. Thanks for all your help."

Peter had finally walked over to the group just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation. "Wait, they're still checking the place out? And we're going INSIDE? Uh, can't we wait until next week or something?" He unclipped his radio and tossed it to Egon who caught it and set inside Ecto-1 with the other radios.

"Nope." Ray put his hand on Peter's shoulder and pushed him toward the front door of the mansion. The four men walked together and stepped carefully over the hoses strewn out all over the ground, stretching from the engine into the mansion. "The sooner we take care of the ghost the sooner Lily can sleep at night."

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Peter lamented nervously as he walked through the entryway of the mansion.

"Just go to the pool." Ray reminded Peter with a twinge of enthusiasm. "Stick to one area, check it out and then go back to the car. Easy!"

"Yeah... easy." Peter was visibly unsettled by the charred interior of the mansion stretching outward from the kitchen into the lengthy corridor. "I hate fire..." he muttered under his breath.

Egon made his way up the stairs to third floor with PKE meter already in hand. Ray found the stairwell leading down into the basement and disappeared quickly. Winston pointed to the glass door leading to the large pool in the center of the mansion before he located the rear door leading the garden in the backyard.

Peter put a sweaty hand on the door handle of the glass door leading to closed off indoor pool. Pushing it open he was greeted by the smell of chlorine and other chemicals.

Massive glass windows that reach from floor to ceiling lined the room and a massive skylight allowed natural sunlight to pour through and illuminate the large rectangular pool in bright light. A large hot tub attached to the corner of the pool had a small waterfall that let the excess warm water pour into the pool which kept the pool water a comfortable temperature and created a soothing waterfall sound.

Along the pool was a brick and stone walkway that encircled the pool and lead out to the two doors leading to the interior room. Four long wooden chairs, two glass tables and four large potted plants with massive green leaves blooming in all directions dotted the corners of the pool.

"How pretty." Peter observed as he knelt beside the pool and dipped his sweaty hands into the water. "And refreshing."

With his back turned Peter heard a metal sound scraping against the stone ground. He turned quickly and spotted a table moving on its own toward him.

"Uh-oh..." Instinctively Peter tried to reach for the radio that normally hung from his belt but it wasn't there. Realizing he couldn't call for back-up he stood up quickly and unsheathed the thrower on his pack as he turned and aimed at the table. "What a time to not have a radio..."

The table slid abruptly across the floor and crashed into one of the chairs, sending it flying across the room.

"Show yourself... or don't."

A loud crash caught his ear as the table suddenly burst into a massive display of glass and metal. Peter took a step back and felt his heel barely step over the edge of the pool. As he struggled to regain his balance and pair of massive ethereal hands grabbed onto his shoulders from behind and pulled him down and back into the depths of the pool.

Caught off guard Peter flailed about in the water helplessly as he vainly attempted to free himself from his spectral assailant. Unable to break free of the strong grip or swim against the heavy weight of the proton pack on his back Peter began choking on water as it readily filled his air deprived lungs.

Everything began to go black as Peter's strength steadily left his body.

* * *

From the basement Ray was unable to detect any presence or find any sign of a ghost in the current vicinity. While he examined the floor, the walls and the various valuable artifacts that lined the shelves throughout the basement he caught the sound of something heavy scraping along the floor above him. Estimating where the noise had originated he realized that it was in the same area as the pool.

"Wonder if Venkman found something?" Ray too reach for the radio that wasn't attached to his belt. "Oh, right. Guess we have to do this the old fashioned way."

The shattering of glass made Ray jump and his heart race. Turning quickly Ray made way back up the stairs and onto the ground floor of the mansion.

* * *

The splashing in the pool subsided as Peter's overpowered body went limp and his mind lost all sense of consciousness and awareness. The weight of the proton pack was heavy enough to keep Peter partially submerged in the water and on floating on his back. The ghost had lost interest in his prey once Peter stopped moving and was now roaming the mansion in search of the other Ghostbusters.

Ray made it to the ground floor and peered through the large windows to the pool curiously. He could see the shattered bits of table through the window and all around the pool.

"There's the mess, but where's Venkman?" Ray pushed open the door and looked around the pool curiously. As he took in the scene he spotted a dark figure floating in the middle of the pool. "Is that- No! Peter!"

Ray unfastened the straps of the pack from around his waist and shrugged his shoulders to drop the proton pack from his back. Taking in a deep breath he dove into the pool and swam over to Peter where he quickly put his hand under Peter's head to hold him above the surface of the water. With one arm wrapped around Peter's upper body and neck Ray swam to the edge of the pool with his free arm in an attempt to save his drowned friend.

"Help!" Ray shouted as loudly as possible. "Paramedics in here now! Hurry!"

With great effort Ray managed to get Peter over to the edge of the pool and tried to lift Peter out of the water, but he was too heavy. Not only was the proton pack weighing him down but his water logged jumpsuit was working against him as well.

The doors of the pool burst open as two firefighters had heard Ray's plea for help and responded swiftly. Reaching into the pool the two men were able to lift Peter up and out of the water by hooking onto him under his arms. Ray lifted his legs and assisted as the two men dragged Peter onto the hard surface next to the pool.

Ray grabbed onto the edge and hoisted himself up and out of the water beside Peter and began working to unfasten the pack straps from Peter's waist and off his shoulders.

The two paramedics, carrying their life-saving equipment, were at Peter's side within seconds after being informed of the drowning. As the male paramedic unzipped Peter's jumpsuit exposing the soaked black t-shirt beneath the female paramedic put her ear to Peter's mouth to check for breathing but she couldn't feel or hear any breaths escaping his body.

"He's not breathing." She stated as she pressed her fingers to the side of his neck next. "No pulse."

Ray watched in shock as the two paramedics began before CPR on Peter. "Don't do this Peter..."

As the male paramedic began chest compressions the female paramedic breathed for Peter, forcing his still chest to rise and fall slowly.

"How long has he been down?" The male paramedic asked as he focused on restarting Peter's heart and clearing his lungs of water.

"I don't know. I found him like this maybe a minute ago!"

"Does he have any allergies?"

"No."

"Does he have a history of seizures or blackouts?"

"No."

Winston had seen the commotion in the pool area as he returned from the garden. Joining the group he looked on as the paramedics tended to the downed Ghostbuster. "Ray? What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. I found him unconscious in the water."

"Do you think he-" A loud crash from the floor above caused Ray and Winston to look up while the paramedics remained steadfast with the CPR and never broke rhythm.

"The ghost?" Ray asked as he stood up, his jumpsuit dripping with pool water.

"Has to be."

Ray looked down at Peter, hesitant to leave his friend behind. Winston knew Ray didn't want to leave and wasn't about to ask him to do so.

"I'll go check it out and find Egon. You stay here."

Cutting open the black fabric of Peter's t-shirt the male paramedic switch places with his partner as she took over compressions and he began attaching leads from the small cardiac monitor to Peter's chest. The display showed a weak, quivering heart beat that was struggling to keep Peter's body alive.

"Come on Peter," Ray encouraged sincerely. "you can make it. You're too stubborn to quit on us now!"

The male paramedic prepared the defibrillator to deliver a shock. As he applied the gel to the paddles he addressed his partner firmly. "Charged to 300. Clear?"

"Clear." She confirmed as she rocked back onto her heels and pulled her hands back from Peter's chest.

Pressing the paddles to Peter's chest, one near the center of his chest and the second at the apex of his heart, the paramedic delivered a controlled shock in an attempt to restart Peter's heart into beating in a proper, healthy rhythm.

Peter's body jumped and his back slightly arched in response to the shock. Ray flinched and looked away at the sight as it was too much for him to bear.

The female paramedic looked at the cardiac monitor and shook her head. "No change."

"Charging again." The male paramedic put the paddles down against Peter's chest again and prepared to shock for the second time. "Clear?"

"Clear."

Ray looked away as Peter's body endured the shock again. As he dared to look back at his friend Ray heard Peter start to cough and choke as a foamy bubble of water escaped his lips.

The two paramedics worked in tandem to turn Peter onto his side as he began coughing up the water from his lungs and choking as his body desperately tried to breathe in while the water was still escaping his body.

The male paramedic pressed his fingers to Peter's neck. "Strong pulse." He looked at the cardiac monitor as his partner slipped an oxygen mask over Peter's mouth and nose. "Normal sinus rhythm."

Ray bowed his head as relief washed over him. "That's it, Peter. Keep fighting."

"Let's get him loaded up." The male paramedic instructed to both the firefighters and his partner. "Monitor his breathing."

"Right." She agreed while the two firefighters left the pool area to retrieve the gurney from the back of the ambulance.

Ray reached out a hand and put it on Peter's shoulder. "Just hang on a little longer, you can make it."

* * *

Winston had managed to track the disturbance on the second floor to an old master bedroom where Egon had already been scanning with his PKE meter. The ghost in question was a massive black shadow of poltergeist with piercing amber eyes that glowed like the sun. The ghost was powerful, angry and not intimidated in the least by the two Ghostbusters that had tracked it down.

The bed had been thrown against the wall, books had been pulled from the bookcase and scattered over the floor, the large oak dressed had all of its drawers pulled free and the clothes within strewn throughout the room. The window was opened wide, the curtains torn and flapping about in the strong breeze that blew through the window.

Working in perfect synchronization Winston had been able to snare the ghost in his proton stream and Egon had managed to slide a trap out into the middle of the room, resting amongst the books and random garments.

"Give me a little boost here Egon!" Winston called out as he skillfully kept the stream wrapped around the struggling ghost.

"Got it!" Egon fired off his own proton pack which encircled the ghost with a second proton stream.

The twin streams easily snaked over and restrained the enraged ghost as it shrieked and fought back fruitlessly against the two Ghostbusters. Keeping their hands steady the duo managed to wrangle the ghost over the trap and began lowering it down.

"Trap open!" Egon called out as he stomped down on the release trigger of the trap. A burst of bright white ionized light erupted from the trap and held the ghost within the confines of the trap.

"Lower it!" Winston shouted as he began moving the ghost down toward the trap with Egon's assistance.

"Closing the trap!" Egon called out again as the ghost was enveloped in the white light and faded from sight. The trap snapped shut and held the ghost captive within. "Success."

Egon approached the trap and picked it up by the cable. Smoke wisped from the trap as the red light blinked to signal its current occupancy.

"Egon, we need to get downstairs. Now."

From the tone of Winston's voice the trained physicist knew something terrible had happened downstairs. "Winston, what has happened?"

* * *

Ray accompanied the gurney as Peter was rolled outside and loaded up into the back of the ambulance. Peter never regained consciousness and he was beginning to shiver from cold. The oxygen mask was still in place over his face and the cardiac monitor was still displaying his heart rate.

Lily hadn't witnessed Peter's revival but when she saw him being rolled out to the ambulance she felt a twinge of nausea in the pit of her stomach. "Oh no... He's been hurt."

"Where are you taking him?" Ray asked as the two paramedics climbed into the ambulance, the male paramedic riding in back with Peter and the female driving.

"General." Was the short and succinct reply. "He's in good hands, trust me."

"Yeah..." Ray sighed as the doors shut and the lights of the ambulance flashed to life.

Lily walked over to Ray with years in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Ray immediately gave her a sympathetic glance and forced a smile to his face. "It's not your fault, I swear. And Peter's tough. He'll be okay, you'll see."

Egon and Winston came charging out of the front of the mansion just as the ambulance took off with Peter as the sole patient.

"Ray?" Winston addressed the engineer as soon as he saw him. "How is he?"

"Alive." Ray confirmed. "But he's still unconscious."

Egon motioned toward Ecto-1. "We better get going if we want to meet him at the hospital."

"Yeah, you're right." Ray nodded and took the trap from Egon. "Miss Roberts, you should check into a hotel for the time being. As soon as your home has been cleared by the fire department you can move back in. And we'll call you as soon as Peter's awake."

"I-"

"He's right." Winston interjected. "You've had a very rough day. Go check into a suite and relax. There's nothing more you can do."

Lily wanted to protest. She wanted to apologize for bringing them into such a dangerous situation, she wanted to apologize for the ghost attacking Peter and she wanted to apologize for putting their friend in danger to begin with. More importantly she wanted to go to the hospital so she could apologize to Peter in person. But knowing that the Ghostbusters were as tenacious as they were strong she'd never convince them to let her go to the hospital.

"O-Okay. Just promise me you'll call as soon as he's awake!"

"I will." Ray reassured her. "Stay with Captain Ziskey, he'll help you out and keep you safe."

She nodded respectfully as the three Ghostbusters raced over to Ecto-1 and piled inside. Winston took the driver's seat with Ray in the front and Egon in the back. Using the lights and siren to their advantage the trio raced off from the mansion and to the hospital where their colleague; their friend was being admitted for treatment.

* * *

It was all a blur for Peter. As he drifted somewhere between wake and sleep he felt horrific memories from his childhood come flooding back to him in a most violent and unwelcome manner. The remnants of the burned interior of the mansion was sickening enough, but feeling the cold powerful hands of the ghost grab onto his shoulders and drag him beneath the surface of the water had set a new fear free in his heart.

Voices around him, voices that were familiar yet not of his friends, were speaking but he couldn't understand their words. The muffled sound of the siren pushed their words further away adding to his fear and the doubt that was settling inside himself as he felt his waning strength fading.

Darkness and silence overwhelmed his mind and for the first time in his life, as Peter rode helplessly in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital, he didn't try to resist. Submitting to the darkness he let his mind go free and the blissfulness of nothingness overtake him.

* * *

It was a painful wait for the three Ghostbusters as they sat in the waiting room together. Ray had removed his soaked jumpsuit and clothes, changing into the extra clothing he kept stored in the rear of Ecto-1 in the event of such a situation. Shivering a little Egon insisted that Ray get checked out by a doctor to ensure he hadn't caught a cold but Ray refused. He was more worried about Peter than himself.

When the doctor had finally allowed the group to see Peter they were all take aback by how frail and defenseless Peter looked laying in the hospital bed with an oxygen mask over his pale face and wires running all over his chest to monitor his vital signs.

Peter was stubborn as a mule and seemingly as strong as one in both mental fortitude and physical resolve.

"I don't know how long he was... unconscious." Ray whispered as he stood beside Peter's bed with a heaviness in his heart. "But I got him out of the water as soon as I could."

"It's not your fault Ray." Winston stood on the other side of Peter's bed and put his hand on Peter's arm. The icy temperature of Peter's skin made his hand twitch upon contact. "The ghost did this. It was strong, violent and wanted to hurt us. It could've been any one of us that it hurt; even you."

Ray didn't respond.

Egon looked at the displays of the monitors and analyzed Peter's current condition. "He's stable. And more importantly he's alive."

Ray was still feeling guilty. He had found Peter in the water but he didn't have the strength alone to get him out; but that wasn't the moment that was haunting Ray's mind.

"I'm the one who insisted he go inside, even though he was clearly uncomfortable. It's my fault-"

"Raymond." Egon didn't want to hear Ray tearing himself apart. "Peter is as willful and stubborn as they come. If he really didn't want to go inside he wouldn't have gone in and there would've been nothing anything of us could have said or done to make him change his mind."

Despite the reassurance Ray couldn't help but feel responsible for Peter's condition.

* * *

From the depths of his own mind Peter could hear his friends talking, he could hear their kind words of encouragement and their admiration for Peter's naturally strong mentality. But somehow Peter felt as though he had lost the fight and didn't want to get back up for the next round.

Peter was tired. Tired of having to be strong. Tired of having to be the rock everyone leaned on. Tired of having to be the spine and stand up for those who were timid, too weak to stand up for themselves.

" _Am I being selfish_? _All I want is to do what needs to be done without having to hold anyone's hand_! _Is that too much_? _Was it really that difficult to see how going inside a burned up mansion was a BAD IDEA_?" Peter asked himself as he struggled with his own thoughts and feeling. " _It's not like I ask for much, just let me alone to do my own thing. Sure, we may be a team but a team is still made up of individuals and as individuals we need to learn how to stand on our own two feet. Egon knows I hate fire, why didn't he say anything to Ray_? _And if Ray is so sensitive then shouldn't he have known that from the beginning_? _And Winston... Winston is an expert on reading body language, should he have picked up on something too_?"

Somewhere in the back of Peter's mind the dreaded feeling of isolation and abandonment reared its ugly head.

" _I grew up without anyone to take care of me_..." His mind drifted deeper into darkness. " _Mom died and dad was never around. So what_? _I turned out okay. I have a couple Ph.D's, started my own business, had my own TV show, acclaimed national fame... All by myself..._ "

Memories of time long past came flooding in from seemingly nowhere.

" _Well, I did get my Ph.D's because Egon helped me through school. And we wouldn't have the business without Ray's investment. And Winston joining the team kept us from getting worn out and quitting when things got tough_..."

Just as Peter was ready to give up, ready to submit to the nothingness that swam through his mind a new string of memories came forth.

" _Of course I'm the one who encouraged Egon to change his major from medicine to physics, so without me he'd probably be an unhappy mess. And Ray, well if I didn't push him Ray would probably be hiding out in a basement researching the paranormal in embarrassed shame. Hell, I even okayed hiring on a new team member so without me Winston might still be looking for work_..."

A strange sensation of empathy washed over Peter and his mindset changed entirely.

" _We're supposed to be exploring the paranormal and helping people who need us. Like Lily. She was afraid and needed our help. We showed up and helped her, right_?"

That was a strange thing for Peter to notice. At least it was for him: The concept of 'we'.

" _I guess maybe we all bring something crucial to the table. Something that we lack as individuals that we gain when we're a team. Ray's the heart of the Ghostbusters, while Egon's the brain of the team. Winston is a man of honor and integrity while I'm... I'm the backbone. The strength. We make each other better by being together._ "

The dark feeling of isolation left his mind as the voices around him began to speak more clearly. Egon, Ray, Winston... They were all there with him.

Mustering what strength he could find Peter forced himself to speak. "G-Guys?"

"Peter!" Ray was the first to respond and he grabbed on Peter's hand tightly. "Squeeze my hand!"

Peter obeyed and squeezed Ray's hand in response. "Did... Did you catch the ghost?"

"Yeah man." Winston confirmed as Egon slipped out of the room to get a doctor. "It's gone. Lily is safe. How do you feel?"

"Waterlogged..."

Egon returned to the room and waited for the doctor to finish a quick examination of Peter's vital signs. The stubborn man was surely on his way to a full recovery despite his near death at the hands of a vengeful ghost.

The doctor seemed a little surprised by how well Peter was responding to the environment around him. "Hard to believe you were on the brink of death Dr. Venkman." The doctor beamed. "I rarely see any patient show signs of recovery so quickly after being admitted. We're going to keep you overnight for observation, but if you're rate of recovery holds true then you can be released tomorrow evening."

Taking his leave of the room the doctor left Ghostbusters alone with their colleague.

"Peter do you remember what happened?" Egon dared to ask as he leaned over the bed in a protective stance.

"Y-Yeah. Ghost moved the table by the pool. Distracted me." He opened his eyes fully and looked up at his friends. "Then the ghost pulled me into the pool."

Egon motioned toward Ray who was still hanging onto Peter's hand. "Ray found you in the water and saved you. We thought we lost you."

"Thanks Ray..." Peter responded softly but sincerely.

"Thanks for pulling through." Ray gave Peter a reassuring smile. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

Peter flashed a cheeky grin. "Fall apart at the seams in a catastrophic manner."

Winston patted Peter's arm. "Thanks for having faith in the team." His sarcasm was very much appreciated in this otherwise somber moment.

"Oh, you have no idea how much faith I have in you guys." Peter's eyes slowly shut as the need to sleep overtook him once more. "We sort of need each other to survive, you know?"

Egon could see how tired Peter was becoming and silently motioned for Ray and Winston to let him rest for a while longer.

"Yeah." Ray finally let go of Peter's hand. "We know. We're a team until the end."

 _ **-The End**_


End file.
